Newsline: Kenyan Embassy victims demand US aid as Obama visits

July 26, 2015 at 8:37 am · Filed under Uncategorized and tagged: Kenya, US

Cheering crowds at the memorial for victims of the 1998 Kenyan Embassy bombing welcomed President Obama as police and the president’s security detail pushed back onlookers trying to catch a glimpse of him. But victims of the August 1998 U.S. Embassy bombing who say they have not been compensated for the attack were not satisfied. “Obama has finally made us feel neglected after he left the site without assuring us if we will be compensated,” said Jane Adhiambo Ayugo, 46, a survivor of the attack. Al-Qaeda’s deadly attack killed 213 people, including 12 Americans. The bombing injured more than 4,000 people in one of the darkest moments in Kenya’s history. Another survivor said he had given up in his push for compensation after Obama left the site without offering a solution despite seeing the demonstrators. “I have today surrendered pushing for this compensation. President Obama’s visit was my last option,” said Sofia Abdalla, a widow, who walked more than 50 miles to the site. “If Obama can’t address this issue, then nobody can.” The U.S. says it spent tens of millions of dollars to help victims and their families, according to the Associated Press. In 2014, U.S. courts awarded compensation to Tanzanian, American and Kenyan victims but Elizabeth Maloba, 45, who lost her husband, said she and other victims have not seen any of that money. “We feel neglected and cheated by the U.S.,” said Maloba, who then repeated an African proverb about hypocrisy. “They preach water but drink wine.”